Facing The Music
by xxwesalxx
Summary: Elena Davis always wondered how one reckless mistake could turn someone's life upside down. She got her answer a little sooner than she had anticipated, but had it really been a mistake after all? OCxSodapop
1. Chapter 1

IMPORTANT: **This story is set a year after the story, but the events in the story didn't happen. Well, most of 'em. You'll see. The greasers are a year older than they were in 'the Outsiders', but no one's dead. Oh, and the Curtis parents are still in da picture! By the way, Darry will be a little different than in the original story, because in the book it said that he used to be happier before his parents died. **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

><p><strong>February 16th, 1966<strong>

The snow cracked under my feet as I marched down the street, desperate for some warmth. My book bag banged against my hip as I walked, and it didn't help that all I was wearing was a jean jacket and a dress. I would have dressed warmer this morning, but my dad said he'd take me to school and pick me up afterwards. He had forgotten about the latter.

Again.

Consequently, I had to walk home. I was also supposed to drop off a piece of homework at the Curtis house. Sodapop hadn't been at school today, and the teacher gave me the responsibility of making sure he got the handout. I was sure that my stomach would be doing backflips, hadn't it been for the cold seeping into my bones.

When I reached the house, my fingers were too numb to be able to ring the bell. I used my elbow instead.

The person who opened the door wasn't Soda. It was his mother: Ann Curtis. She was very beautiful for her age, with golden-blonde hair, brown eyes and a warm smile. Sodapop looked a lot like her.

"Elena!" She grinned. "It's good to see you, dear. Come inside! It's freezing."

"Thanks, Mrs. Curtis," I said with a smile. I wiped my feet on the mat and stepped inside.

"Call me Ann, darling. I've told you that a million times," the older woman said, resting her hand on her hip. "So, what brings you here?"

"Sodapop," I said and instantly felt embarrassed. She probably knew about my crush on her son. Ann was one of those people that could read you and your feelings as though you were an open book. Her lopsided smile made me blush. "I mean... Uh, I'm here to drop off his homework. If that's okay."

"'Course that's okay! Steve's with him too. You know Steve, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know him."

A crash was heard, and then a thump. Ann sighed and I laughed. "Boys..." she mumbled, shaking her head. She nodded towards the stairs. "Will you go check up on them?" she asked me.

I smiled and nodded, before heading up the stairs. I heard laughing as I reached out for the handle of Sodapop's door, but it was opened before I could even touch the metal. I collided with a hard chest.

"Woah!" Steve's voice sounded, grabbing me by the shoulders. He laughed. "Didn't expect to see you here." He let go of me and I rubbed my nose.

"Hello," I said, chuckling.

"Who is it?" Soda hollered.

Steve ignored him and told me that he was just leaving. He smirked at me, patted me on the back a little harder than I would have appreciated, and then left._Weird._

"Hi," I breathed, walking into the room. Soda was on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His hands were behind his head.

He looked up at me and grinned. "Hey," he said, sitting up. "What're you doin' here?"

"Came to drop off your homework," I said, putting down my shoulder bag.

"Well, ain't that nice," Soda said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or genuinely friendly.

I pulled out the handout for the history class that we had together and gave it to him. Sodapop grimaced and I laughed. Then I sat down next to him and felt his forehead. Guess I was feeling bold that day. "Hey, you ain't sick," I said, scowling playfully.

Soda looked at me blankly. "Yes, I am." He coughed, but it sounded forced. I cocked an eyebrow and he grinned widely. "Busted," he said. Then he turned serious. "Please don't tell my mom."

"Don't worry about it," I laughed and stood back up. "I guess I'd better get going. I have a ton of homework to do."

Soda and I weren't really friends. We were in the same year and had done one or two school projects together. Same with one of his buddies—Johnny Cade. We acted decent towards each other, but that was about it. Steve and I just knew about each other's existance.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, El," Soda said, looking over the handout with a disgusted expression. I bit my lip._El. _Oh, how wonderful it felt to have him give me a nickname. _  
><em>

"See you tomorrow." I stood there for a minute, taking in Sodapop's perfect facial features. _Oh, man_, I thought to myself. _If I could just kiss him once... _I sighed dreamily and picked up my bag. I walked out of the room and hopped down the stairs. My heart was beating very loudly. I leaned against the wall with my hand over my chest, sucking in a breath of air.

"You okay there?" a masculine voice said, making me jump out of my skin. A broad man stood in the doorway, an amused look on his face. He looked about twenty-five. Maybe a little younger. He was kind of good-looking—a little too big for my taste, but he had nice eyes and a handsome smile. His cheeks were flushed. From the cold outside, probably.

I grinned sheepishly and looked away in embarrassment. "I'm okay," I said, clearing my throat. I outstretched my hand and looked back at the man. "My name's Elena."

He chuckled and shook my hand. "Darry Curtis," he said. Darry crossed his arms over his chest and eyed me. "So, you a friend of Sodapop's?"

"I... I mean, I'm... Well, we have a few classes together," I said. It was silent for a few seconds. "Uh, you're his brother? Or his dad...?"

"Do I look that old to you?" Darry laughed.

I blushed fiercely. "No! I just—I don't know, I'm weird. I'm sorry." I felt like bursting into tears. I was digging my own grave here. I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes. "I was just headin' out," I said.

"All right. It was good meet'n ya, Elena," Darry said.

"You too. Uh, where's your mother? I wanta say goodbye to her."

"Right here, doll," Ann's voice came from behind me. She was drying her hands on a towel. "Already leaving?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, I'll walk you out," Ann said and escorted me to the door. I waved a goodbye to Darry, who just winked. Not in a flirtatious way, but more in the... I don't know, the way adults wink at you when they wanna say 'it's all good' or 'I've got you'. I don't know how to explain it.

"Come again, dear," Ann said.

I thanked her and stepped into the cold weather outside.

* * *

><p>All I could think about that night was Sodapop and his beautiful smile. Oh, and occasionally I would remember how badly I'd embarrassed myself in front of his brother and cringe. I gave up on my homework after two hours of trying to focus. It was useless. Thank God I didn't have any tests the next day, or I would have been totally screwed.<p>

It was 9:36 p.m. and I could hear yelling coming from the living room. I put down my physics book and closed the door with a sigh. My parents did this everyday. The fighting had become worse when Dad lost his job.

Usually, I'd get really scared when my parents started fighting. I don't know why, but I would feel sick to my stomach and start shaking. Sometimes I even cried. One time it got so bad that I fainted. Boy, had that scared my mother.

I wasn't scared that night; I was annoyed. I wanted them to shut up for once. I was tired and distracted and_probably_ in love. I couldn't deal with my parents' fighting right then.

I had already brushed my teeth and washed off all my makeup, so I turned off the light and hit the sack, hoping that my feelings would let me fall asleep soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**February 17th, 1966**

The next morning was torture. First, I was awakened by my cranky mother complaining about how messy my room was. Then, she started comparing me to my old man. And then a fight broke out between the two. I rushed into the bathroom and got ready as fast as I could. I just wanted to get out of the house, no matter how cold it was. I quickly brushed my teeth, washed my face and ran my fingers through my hair to smooth out the curls.

I outlined my eyes with eyeliner, ran a mascara brush through my lashes and piled on the face powder. When I was done in the bathroom, I slipped back into my bedroom. My mother sat in the corner, crying her eyes out.

I sighed and crouched down in front of her. "Where's Dad?" I asked gently.

"Gone," she sobbed. "He left."

My chest tightened. "He'll be back tonight, I promise," I said and kissed her cheek. "It'll be okay."

"It hasn't been okay since you turned seven!"

"Mom... I don't know what to tell you," I said desperately.

"Don't tell me nothin'. Just go get ready. And dress warm, 'cause I don't have the time to take you to school," she said. I nodded and went over to my closet. Mom left the room.

I settled on a knitted dress that only barely covered my knees, thick knee socks and the only pair of shoes I owned. I didn't look my best, but I couldn't do much about it. The weather was cold and I didn't have many clothes to work with anyway.

I just hoped Soda wouldn't look at anything other than my face that day. Well, it wasn't like he was interested in me, so it didn't matter what I looked like. With a defeated sigh and my book bag hanging off my shoulder, I sprayed myself with my mother's perfume and then walked down the stairs.

"Mom, did you pack my lunch? I'm runnin' late," I said, walking into our small kitchen.

"Elena, you're seventeen years old. You don't need me to pack your lunch anymore," Mom told me, lighting a cigarette.

"I'm sixteen," I corrected.

"Fine. _Almost_ seventeen," she grumbled. "And I'm not your maid, either. It ain't my responsibility to pack your damn lunch!"

"I was just asking! Golly, you don't have to yell," I said, looking through the icebox for something to eat. "You've been in such a bad mood lately..."

"Why wouldn't I be in a bad mood?" she snapped and took a drag. "My life sucks!"

"No, it doesn't! Gosh, Mom, I get that you don't like fighting with Dad, but you're still healthy and alive—"

"Barely," she interrupted. I slammed the door of the icebox shut and spun around to look at her.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" I shouted.

"Get out," she hissed. I blinked at her.

"What?"

"I _said_, get the fuck out of my house! And don't come back tonight, either. All you are is a burden!" she screamed. "An ungrateful bitch who thinks the world is hers! I've got news for ya, princess. The reason your _daddy_ and I're so unhappy is you!"

Tears stung at the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away and nodded. "You keep treating people like this and you're gonna die bitter and alone."_  
><em>

"OUT!"

I bit my lip and stormed out of the house, grabbing my coat in the process. The walk to school took me at least twenty minutes. My bones felt frozen by the time I had walked up the steps of the building.

I dumped my coat in my locker and slammed the door shut. I rubbed some warmth into my stiff fingers, trying my best to stop thinking about my mother. I just needed a place to stay for the night. Maybe I could crash at Linda's place. Everything would blow over soon.

Linda Estevez was by far my best friend. She had sandy blonde hair, big blue eyes and the biggest heart of anyone I knew. It was too bad that people always pushed her around. Guys, especially. She didn't deserve that.

But was her own fault, really. She let people treat her like that, and then laugh about it too. She had a thing for the bad boys. The assholes. She had a long line of douche-y ex boyfriends who had either left her for another broad, or decided Linda wasn't good enough for them. Linda was an easy girl too. Easy to sleep with, I mean. She wasn't slutty by a long shot, but her low self-esteem always made it easy for guys to trick her into having sex with them.

Both Linda and I got a lot of attention from guys in general, but while she agreed to go out with every guy that looked her way, I had only dated one person. I wasn't into the kind of guys that asked me out, usually. Not that they weren't good enough for me, but most of them were disrespectful and loud-mouthed. Not my type.

There was this one boy that I used to like when I was fourteen. Frankie Oliver. He was a real sweetheart and a gentleman, but after seven months of dating, I broke up with him. While I liked how nice of a guy he was, he was wimpy. It might sound bitchy, but he wasn't the kind of boy that I was looking for.

I had set the bar high for boys. They had to be handsome, funny, kind-hearted, confident and tough.

Kind of like Sodapop.

The painful part about my crush on Soda was that the only guy I'd ever liked_this _much, didn't return my feelings. Linda had only smiled when I told her this. "That's life, Ellie," she had said.

Speaking of my best friend, there she was, walking up to me with the biggest smile on her face. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Someone's happy," I said. Linda squealed and hugged me tightly.

"Guess who just scored a date with Dallas Winston!" she whisper-shouted. I looked at her incredulously.

"Linda, no..."

Linda's grin faded. "What do you mean, 'no'? Ain't you happy for me?"

"Sure, but _really_? Dallas Winston? He'll take your heart, throw it on the ground and step on it with running shoes. You know the kind that have spikes sticking out of the soles," I said. "You might as well go out with Tim Shepard."

Dallas Winston and Tim Shepard were the toughest hoods I knew. They had been arrested countless times, and while they were in seperate gangs, they were often seen hanging around each other. Sodapop and Dallas were buddies, so I was sure he had_some_ good in him, but he was very likely to break Linda's heart.

"I have," Linda said with a shrug.

My eyes widened. "You what?"

"Oh, chill out. He took me to a movie, tried to sleep with me and when I refused to, he dumped me." She grinned. "I was still a virgin."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because I knew what your reaction was gonna be. And it was one date. I didn't even like him that much. Dallas is somethin' else," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Just be careful. And you better tell me if he tries something, 'cause God knows I won't have any mercy on him," I said.

Linda giggled and pinched my cheek. "C'mon, I know you're all talk," she said. "You've never even killed a spider."

"Hey, spiders are scary as shit, okay?" I said defensively.

"What about flies?"

"They're too gross to kill."

"That makes no sense," she laughed.

"Your face makes no sense," I said. I turned serious. "Hey, uh, can I stay at your place tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure," she said. "I mean, I'll have to check with my mom first, but—"

"I got kicked out," I told her. Linda's gaze softened.

"Oh, honey. Of course you can stay with me," she said and kissed my temple, before pulling me into another hug. "Did I already tell you you look stunning today?"

I chuckled and blinked away the tears that were threatening to spill. "Thanks," I said.

* * *

><p>My first class of the day was English, and I was slowly starting to fall asleep.<p>

"Davis," someone whispered from the seat behind me. I yawned and turned around. It was Steve. "Did you do the homework?" he asked.

I nodded. I had finished in in class two days ago. "Yeah, you wanna copy it?"

"That okay with you?" he said quietly. I smiled and made sure that the teacher wasn't looking, before slipping Steve my notebook. "You're a life-saver," he said. I turned back to the front, waiting for him to be done copying my answers.

"Okay, class," Mrs. Conrad said. "I'm gonna walk around to see if y'all did your homework."

_Hurry up, Steve,_ I prayed.

Of course, Mrs. Conrad had to check me first. "Can I see your homework?" the old woman asked, raising her eyebrows.

I sighed. "I... forgot my notebook," I said.

"You know that counts as not doing your homework, right?" she said.

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, well I wanna speak to you after the lesson." Mrs. Conrad tapped her pen on my desk and left to check some other kid's notebook. Great. I was probably going to get extra work.

"Thanks," Steve said, tossing me my notebook. "That was cool."

I gave him a tight smile. "Don't sweat it."

After English, I had my worst subject ever. P.E. Listen to me when I say that I'd rather get shot in the foot than run a marathon. I sucked at sports. Always had. It was the only class I was failing and I hated it with a passion. I always got anxiety about it, because it was embarrassing. I couldn't run ten yards without feeling breathless, or do a push-up to save my life.

The worst part was that Sodapop was in that class with me. Sodapop and Steve, both.

I dumped my book bag in my locker and changed into the required uniform: white shorts and a tank top with 'Tulsa High School' written on it in red letters. I tied my hair back and walked over to the bleachers, where I sat down.

I caught sight of Soda and Steve walking into the gymnasium. Other than us three, there was a group of four loud girls with dolled up faces, a bunch of Soc guys, their female friends, and three greaser guys. I had exactly one friend in this class, and that was Evie Wellington. We never hung out or anything, but she was a very nice girl. Loud and obnoxious, but nice. She always high-fived me when we ended up being in the same team.

She and Steve were always ogling at each other. I had heard somewhere that the two of them were dating.

Coach Nelson walked in and unnecessarily blew his whistle. "Okay! First thing we're doing today is a warming up," he said. I groaned quietly. "Get up and run around the gym until I tell you to stop!"

The lot of us stood up and started jogging, me at the end of the line. No surprise there.

"Come on! That ain't running, that's walking!" Coach Nelson hollered. I took a deep and picked up my pace along with the rest of the group. My lungs were starting to ache, and I hadn't even finished my first round.

When I started my second round, the kids who had been in front of the line caught up with me, two of the kids whispering and laughing among themselves. I clenched my jaw and did my best to keep up with them, but my legs felt like blocks of concrete.

I saw Sodapop turn his head around. We locked eyes for a moment, and out of nowhere, he slowed down until he was running on my right side. "Hey there," he said, grinning at me. He didn't seem tired at all.

I tried to smile, but I felt miserable. "Hey," I breathed.

"You doin' okay?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm... great..." I found it hard to lift my legs, which caused me to slow down a lot. Soda slowed right with me.

"C'mon, you can do this," he said to me and grabbed my elbow, keeping me at his pace.

"Thirty more seconds!" Coach Nelson shouted.

Soda tugged at my arm. "Don't stop running," he said. His breath was slowly getting heavier.

"I'm tryin'," I panted.

"If you're finished with this round, you can sit back down!" Coach said.

About ten seconds later, the whole class was sitting on the bleachers, while Soda and I were still running. We were halfway there, though. Sodapop's hand moved from my elbow to my hand. He gripped it tightly and sped up, pulling me along with him.

_Great way to give me a heart attack, Soda. _

I couldn't help but grin a little when we reached the orange cone that represented the 'finish'. Steve 'woop'ed and gave me a high-five, before patting Sodapop on the back.

I sat back down and caught my breath. Soda and Steve sat down too, Soda next to me and Steve next to him. Evie scooched over so that she could take Steve's hand. I turned to Soda and smiled at him.

"Tha-thanks," I said between quick breaths. There was a pounding in my ears.

"Don't mention it," he told me and clapped me on the back. "I never noticed you were so bad at sports. No offense."

I laughed and shook my head, wiping the corners of my mouth. "None taken."

Coach Nelson blew his whistle to get us quiet. "Golly, such a fuss over a warming up," he said. "So, what we're gonna do today is simple. There's a basket here, and there's a basket waaaay over there. Guess what game we're playing."

I rolled my eyes. He could also just _tell_ us, instead of performing a play. But in case you haven't already figured it out: the game was basketball.

* * *

><p>The day went by quite smoothely. Soda and Steve made P.E. fun for me—well, as fun as it could be. I got a ball in the face, though. Stupid Soc. I had Johnny Cade in two of my other classes that day, and I sat next to him in one of them.<p>

Linda and I skipped the last two periods, because I was close to passing out from being so hungry and she was bored. She took me to the Dingo and insisted on treating me to a hamburger and a milkshake. She ordered large fries for us to share, and got a hamburger and a coke for herself.

"Okay, I want details," she said the second I took a bite of my hamburger.

"Details?" I asked, eagerly sipping my milkshake.

"I saw you talking to Sodapop Curtis today," she told me. "You know, at your locker. And you seem unusually happy, so spit it out."

I grinned. "He waited for me after P.E," I, pulling my shoulders up shyly. Linda's eyes lit up.

"He did?!" she squealed, causing a few people to turn their heads our way. I giggled and nodded.

"Yeah, and we practically held hands," I said proudly, munching on a couple of fries.

"How'd _that_ happen?" Linda asked, grinning widely.

"He was helping me run. And also, when we were playing basketball, we were in different teams. So, this girl, Evie Wellington—"

"Cute, blonde, greaser?" Linda interrupted.

I nodded and continued. "Yeah, she threw me the ball—dumb idea, really, but anyways, I was close to the basket. So I took a shot. Guess what," I said. "Sodapop was right in front of me and he 'accidentally' let me score. He could have totally stopped me, but he didn't!"

Linda clapped her hands and tried to contain her squeals. "Ellie, that's wonderful!"

"I know," I laughed and sighed dreamily. "And he's so beautiful. Handsome ain't even good enough to describe how hot he is."

"Mhm. He's so totally your type," Linda agreed, sipping her coke.

I laughed again. "I have a type?"

"Yup. You like the pretty boys. Tuff, blonde, great smile..."

"Oh, please. Frankie was a brunet," I protested.

"Yeah, but you wasn't in love with Frankie, am I wrong?" She looked pleased with herself.

"I ain't in love with Sodapop either," I said, even though I wasn't sure myself.

"Stop kidd'n yourself," Linda snorted. "Having a crush for longer than six months counts as being in love."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"Fine. But I don't base crushes on hair color," I said, chewing on my straw. "Or appearance in general, for that matter. Soda's looks are a bonus."

"Okay, but it's a pretty big bonus. His looks are pretty much perfect," Linda said.

I shrugged. "Who doesn't like perfect boys?" I asked.

"I don't. I never have."

I thought about every crush she'd ever told me about, every boyfriend she'd had, everyone who she'd even remotely been interested in. They were all slackers, criminals, or sleazy assholes. And while I had always wondered why she always settled for guys like that, the answer was simple.

"You're afraid," I said, shivering at the realization. "You're afraid, because you think that you're not good enough."

Linda nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's what it is." Her voice was quiet.

"I think that if anyone deserves perfection, it's you," I said. Linda laughed a little.

"Thanks," she said, but she didn't look convinced. "Eat up. I have to be home by four." She grinned and grabbed a handful of fries, before forcing them into my mouth. I choked on a fry and coughed until we were both laughing like maniacs.


	3. Chapter 3

**February 17th, 1966**

"Psst. Elena."

I stopped tapping my pencil against my notebook and looked up with a smile. "You don't have to whisper, you know," I said. "The teacher's too old to care anyway."

Soda scooted his chair closer to me, even though he was already sitting next to me. "Do you get problem 7b?" he asked, pointing at the table in my math book. I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you just take the information that's given in the table and put it into your formula," I said.

Sodapop blinked. "And how do I do that?"

I giggled and grabbed his notebook off his desk. His handwriting was surprisingly neat. I wrote down 'y=' and said, "That's how you start with your formula. Then you take the growth factor, which is...?"

Soda frowned and pursed his lips as he thought about it. He looked so cute.

"You should have calculated that with question 7a," I said.

"I skipped that one, because I didn't get it."

I grabbed my calculator and handed it to him. "You have to calculate how much the amount has grown and whether it's positive or negative, so you take 32 and divide it by the previous number, which is 20. You know that it's positive already, because the number gets bigger."

He stared at me.

I smiled and pointed at the calculator. "You wanna put it it?" I asked. Soda nodded slowly and pushed a few buttons.

His adam's apple bounced as he cleared his throat. "Uh, 1.6."

"Okay, so write down y is 1.6 to the power of x," I told him. Soda did what I said and looked at me expectantly. "Then you multiply that by the first number given and that's 20."

"All right, so how do you know what x is?" Soda asked, writing down 'x20'.

"That's in the table," I said, pointing at my book. "Get it now?"

Soda nodded and gave me a lopsided smile. "You're a smart cookie, you know that?"

I blushed and waved him off. "This is just basic maths."

"Are you callin' me dumb?"

My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No, that's not what—"

"I'm just teasing," Soda laughed. I bit my lip and suppressed a grin. "But I'm serious, you have a great set of brains on ya."

"Thanks," I said.

Sodapop sucked in a sharp breath. "Are you free this Saturday?" he asked, causing me to nearly choke on my own spit. Was he really asking me out?

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm free," I said, feeling slightly out of breath.

"Do you wanna meet up at my house?" he asked. "We have this really big maths test coming up next week and I barely even know what this chapter's about... My grades ain't popping, if you know what I mean. I could really use your help."

I wanted to bang my head against the table. He wasn't asking me out; he was asking me to help him study. I didn't know why I had expected him to actually want to go out with me.

I nodded anyway, despite feeling disappointed. "Sure," I said. "Yeah, I'll help you."

"You're an angel," Soda said with a grin.

I pursed my lips and went back to solving stupid math problems, as if there weren't bigger problems in the world. My love life, for instance.

* * *

><p>Later that day, I had a French class and none of my friends were in it. Not that I had many friends anyway. I mean Sodapop, Linda, Evie, Steve or even Johnny. Instead, a boy with red hair and long sideburns sat next to me, throwing crumpled pieces of paper at other kids. It annoyed me, until a substitute teacher walked in and the boy hit him in the head with one.<p>

I started to laugh, but seeing the look the teacher gave me, I turned it into fake coughs.

The kid grinned at me and was about to say something to me, but the teacher started talking.

"Class," he started. "My name is Mr. Alder and I'll be your substituting French teacher today." Alder was a short, overweight man with bald spots on his head that looked like he had been trying to cover up with the rest of his thinning hair. I couldn't stop staring at his moustache. The thing covered most of his mouth, really.

A girl in front of me raised her hand. "Where's Miss Durand?" she asked.

"Miss Durand has called herself in sick today," Mr. Alder said apathetically. "I'll tell you all a little about myself and then we'll start with the lesson. Bien?"

_Oh, God_, I thought._ Another teacher that tries to hard._

"Bien," the class muttered.

"Great. I am thirty-five years of age—," Lies, "—and my hobbies are reading French books, watching television and drinking a lot of wine. The latter isn't much of a hobby, though." He laughed.

"Yeah, it's more of a problem," I said. I didn't mean to come off as wise, but I hadn't been able to help myself.

The redhead next to me laughed, and so did a few other kids. The teacher shot me a mean look, but I just shrugged. I zoned out for a while as Alder talked about his cat, Springer.

A crumpled piece of paper landed in my lap. I looked up and saw the redheaded kid looking at me expectantly. I smoothed the paper out with my fingers and laughed as quietly as possible.

_Is it just me or does Alder's moustache look like it's a hair away from eating his face?—TBM,_ the note read.

I grabbed a pen and wrote down, _Should we warn him?_ I passed the note back to the boy. As I studied his facial features better, I came to the conclusion that he was sort of handsome. He had a spark in his eye, and it was clear that he was a trouble-maker. _He could be real good-looking, _I thought. If only he'd shave those sideburns of his.

He snorted. He was about to write something down, but I snatched the piece of paper away and wrote down something else.

_Let's throw a razor at it and see what happens._ I passed it back to the redhead and watched him read it. His face broke out into a grin, but he didn't write anything back. He put the note in the pocket of his leather jacket and crossed his arms, turning back to the front.

Alrighty, then.

It felt like an eternity until the bell rang, signalling that the day was over. I packed up and threw my bag over my shoulder, before exiting the class room. The redhead caught up with me and cleared his throat. I turned my head to look at him. He grinned at me.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The corners of my mouth tugged upwards. "Elena. What's yours?"

"Two-Bit Mathews," he told me. I nodded. _Two-Bit, what a strange name..._

We walked in silence for a while, until I came to a halt in front of my locker. "Did you want something?" I asked as politely as I could.

"You're... Elena _Davis_, right?" he said, squinting curiously.

"Yeah, why?"

"I just—well, my buddy told me about you," he said awkwardly. "He said you were cool, and I guess you are from what I saw in class today. I wanted to talk to you for a bit."

I smiled. "Okay, welll, who's this buddy of yours?"

"Sodapop Curtis."

My eyebrows shot up. "Soda told you about me? What else did he say?" I asked eagerly.

"That you two have a date this Saturday," Two-Bit said with a shrug.

"He... _said_ that?"

"Well, no. But he said you were helpin' him study 'cause you're all brainy and shit," Two-Bit said. He leaned against the locker next to mine and pulled out a cancer stick. I sighed and nodded, grabbing my coat out of my locker.

"Yeah, he seems to think so," I said with a slight roll of my eyes.

"Anyway, you dig all right," Two-Bit told me, his unlit cigarette dangling between his lips. "Oh, and Soda was lookin' for you at lunch, but he couldn't find ya. Dunno what he wanted."

"He probably just wanted to copy my homework," I huffed.

Two-Bit shrugged. "Eh, who knows?"

I grabbed my coat and closed my locker. Suddenly, an arm landed around my shoulders and a pair of lips were pressed against my cheek. It was Linda. "Are you going home today or are you stayin' at my place again?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'm going home. I gotta straight things out with my mom."

Linda nodded and dropped her arm. She nodded towards Two-Bit. "Who's this?" she asked.

I snorted. "You're so classy, Lin," I said. Two-Bit grinned. "This is Two-Bit. He's in my French class."

"And in your physics class," Two-Bit added, taking his cigarette out of his mouth.

Linda nodded slowly and then turned back to me. "Hey, I read this article today. Apparently, your favorite tropical fruit says a lot about your personality," she said.

"If _you _were a tropical fruit, you'd be a fine-apple," Two-Bit said smoothely, smirking at Linda. She looked at him for a second, and then cackled with laughter.

"What was your name again?" she asked.

"Saturday night, but you can call me anytime."

Linda and I collapsed into each other from laughing. "Oh, brother," Linda said. "You're... wow, you're something."They were so caught up in their playful bickering that they didn't even notice me leaving. I chewed on my already-short nails as I hopped down the steps outside.

"Elena!" a deep voice called behind me. I turned around to see my father jogging down the steps. His face was unshaven, his eyes were bloodshot and his clothes were just a mess. "Hey," he said as he caught up with me.

"Hi. What were you doing inside?" I asked.

"Lookin' for you. I came home last night and you wasn't there," he told me. "Your mother said she didn't know where you were."

"That's 'cause I didn't tell her."

"Answer the question," he said.

"You didn't _ask _me a question," I snapped.

"Where were you last night?!"

I looked around to see if anyone was looking at us. A few kids were. I gritted my teeth and said, "You might want to watch your volume."

"Where were you?" he asked again.

"At Linda's house," I said.

"Without telling us first?" He looked at me incredulously. "Why are you behaving like this? This ain't you."

"Can we talk about this in the car?" I whispered.

"Fine." Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him. Tears formed in my eyes. I wasn't used to him being mad at me. Frankly, I don't think he'd ever yelled at me before. I didn't like it one bit. And to think that this was all Mom's fault.

**Okay, so not much happened this chapter, but I'm building something up. Patience will be greatly appreciated. Anyway, thank you (guest) for the lovely review. I'll try to get next chapter up by Thursday XX**


	4. Chapter 4

**February 18th, 1966**

The first thing I did when I woke up was look in the mirror. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found no marks or bruises on my face. I applied tons of powder anyway, just in case. I cursed myself for crying so much the night before—my eyes were all puffy. Thank God for concealer._  
><em>

I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and left some strands out to frame my face. Curls were hard to manage and I was just too lazy to put a lot of effort into my hair that day, so I left it at that. The clothes I wore were simple: a light pink dress with long sleeves, thick tights and my usual pair of black boots.

I went downstairs to find my mom and dad sitting at the kitchen table, glaring daggers at each other. "Goodmorning," I said.

"Morning," Dad said and handed me a plate of eggs and bacon. I smiled. It was nice of him to fix me breakfast.

"I hope you're planning on cleaning your room tonight," Mom said as I bit into my eggs. "And sit down when you eat, you're gonna choke to death."

I took the seat next to her and swallowed the food. "I was going to do it on Sunday," I told her.

"Why Sunday?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Because I'm always tired on Friday nights and I already have plans for tomorrow."

"Plans?" Dad asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I was going to help a classmate study," I said. "He's having some trouble with maths."

"Do we know him?" Dad asked. I shook my head. "Well, try to be home before eight o'clock. And I want his adress and his parents' names written down before you leave tomorrow."

"Okay," I said and ate the rest of my food in silence. Dad put my lunch in my bag and kissed the top of my head.

"I'll be back tonight," he said, mostly to me, and then he was out the door. Mom rubbed her face and put her head in her hands. I didn't want to comfort her. It was her own fault for treating Dad so bad that he was always gone.

I left only a minute after him.

* * *

><p>"Ellie, honey, that dress is gorgeous," Linda said as we walked down the school hall. "Where'd you get it?"<p>

"I don't know, my old man got it for me a few months ago," I said.

"Speaking of, how'd it go with your mom yesterday?" Linda asked. We entered the chemistry class room and sat down in the back.

"Well, my dad picked me up from school," I started. "When we got home, I got yelled at a little by them both because I didn't tell my dad that Mom kicked me out. She just played along with him about how I 'can't just disappear and act like nothing happened'. When I was finally sent to my room, my mom followed me and beat me for almost ratting her out."

Linda looked at me with wide eyes. "She didn't."

I sighed and nodded. "She did," I said.

"No offense, but your mom's a bitch," she said. I put my head on my forearms.

"She hates me," I said, fighting back tears.

Linda rubbed my back. "She doesn't hate you. How could she, anyway? You're her child, and on top of that you're the coolest kid anyone could have," she told me. I chuckled and embraced her.

"I don't even want to go home anymore," I said truthfully, pulling away from Linda.

The bell rang, and a whole bunch of students walked in, followed by the teacher—a twenty-year-old guy with a handsome smile and an Australian accent. It bothered me that he wasn't even done with college yet. He couldn't possibly teach a Senior class. He knew the material well, but he had a lot to learn about managing a class.

Sodapop and Johnny walked in. Soda gave me an acknowledging nod and sat down a row in front of Linda and me. Johnny took the seat next to him. Neither of them said a word to me, or Linda.

"When was your date with Winston again?" I whispered to Linda.

"Tonight," she said. "But I'm not going. Dallas ain't serioiu about me anyway, and I deserve better than to be treated like I don't matter."

I smiled and patted her shoulder. "I'm proud of you," I said. She giggled and slapped my hand away.

"Class," mr. Dooley started. "Today I have a demonstration for you. And I want you to take notes. Sherri, would you give me a hand?" He grabbed a stack of papers and gave them to the redhead sitting in the front. She handed the forms out and Dooley set up a few things for the demonstration. A test tube with a solid, gray substance inside. "I need an assistance!" Dooley exclaimed. He looked around the room and stopped when he saw me. "Miss Davis, come on up."

I exchanged a look with Linda and then slowly made my way to the front. Oh, man. Everyone was watching me.

Dooley winked at me and gave me the lighter and a pair of safety glasses. "Is this safe?" I asked.

"No, you're probably gonna burn to death," he said sarcastically. I cocked an eyebrow and looked back at Linda, who was laughing her head off. "Okay, pay close attention, 'cause you don't wanna miss this."

Dooley poured demi-water into the test tube and at first nothing happened, but then the substance turned into a white suspension and released rings of gas. He grabbed another test tube and held it over the first one. After a few seconds he put the first test tube away and told me to flick the lighter.

I did what he told me to and then he held the tube with the gas in it over the flame. Dooley had the biggest grin on his face and I watched on curiously. The gas inside made a very loud sound, like an explosion almost. I shrieked and dropped the lighter.

The whole class erupted with laughter. I put a hand over my chest and breathed out.

"You can sit down now," the teacher said. I took off the glasses and put them on his desk. I blushed in embarrassment, happy that I was sitting in the back of the class.

I dared to look at Sodapop. He was still laughing.

I put my forehead on Linda's shoulder the second I sat back down. "I hate my life," I said, but I couldn't help but join in with the laughter of the rest.

* * *

><p>Lunch couldn't come soon enough. Linda ditched me to go work on her art project, so I was stuck with finding a quiet place to sit. I wasn't going to eat in the cafeteria, that was for sure. I would just look stupid, sitting all by myself.<em><br>_

I was just about to head down to the theatre room, when I heard someone call my name.

"Elena, wait up!" Sodapop raised his hand and jogged towards me. Two Soc girls walking by started whispering to each other, seeing Soda rush past them. Wow, even Socs were attracted to him.

I smiled and hugged my binder to my chest. "Hey, Soda," I said, slightly proud that I was the one talking to him.

Soda grinned and stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans as soon as he'd reached me. "You got some place to be?" he asked. I shook my head. "Good. I mean, we were just wonderin' if you would come sit at our table..."

My smile widened. "Who's we?"

"Me and Steve," Sodapop said. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll sit with you," I said and followed Sodapop into the cafeteria. There was a whole group at the table. I recognized most of the people. Johnny, Steve, Evie, Dallas Winston and Two-Bit. There was also another boy at the table. He looked about fourteen or fifteen years old. He had green eyes and long, reddish-brown hair. He seemed nice enough.

I was just a little nervous about Dallas, because... well, he was scary-looking. And now that Linda had blown him off, I doubted he'd like me very much. Unless Linda hadn't blown him off yet. Or maybe he didn't even know that we were friends.

"I think you already know everyone here," Sodapop said and sat down, motioning for me to sit next to him on the bench. I apologized to Johnny for bumping him with my knee as I sat between him and Soda. "Uh, that's my kid brother Ponyboy. Pony, this is Elena." He pointed to the green-eyed boy, who gave me a little nod as if to say 'hello'. They all had such strange names...

I smiled and outstretched my hand. "Nice to meet you, Ponyboy," I said.

"You too," he said quietly.

Soda cleared his throat and pointed at Dallas. "And that's Dallas, but we call him Dally."

I nodded at Dallas. "You cool with me calling you that?" I asked. Dallas smirked.

"Well, if ya really have to," he teased.

I cocked my head. "Guess I have no choice," I said and found the courage to wink. Apparently, Dallas wasn't as bad as he seemed. That came as a relief to me.

I looked at Johnny. For the first time ever, I noticed a scar that ran from his temple to his cheekbone. I wondered how he had gotten it, but I knew better than to bring it up. I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable or anything.

Evie cleared her throat from across the table. "So, Elena," she started. "There's a party at my house on Sunday. Feel like comin'?"

I grinned. "That's nice of you to ask," I said.

"Well, I'm sure half the seniors are coming," she told me. "Half the greasers, I mean. No Socs allowed. Anyway, are you game?"

I nodded and said, "I'm game."

Ponyboy was looking down at his lap and I wondered why, until I saw the book he had in his hands. "Hey, Ponyboy, what are you reading?" I asked.

"To Kill A Mockingbird," he answered, looking up at me.

"Oh, great book. I didn't put it down until I finished it," I added with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, it's a classic," Ponyboy said. He seemed a little more comfortable with me than in the beginning, which was a good thing. "I'm almost done with it, only fifteen pages to go."

"Well, keep reading!" I urged. Ponyboy let out a small laugh and looked back down at his book.

I mostly kept my mouth shut for the rest of our lunch period, occasionally laughing at the jokes that the guys made.

"Elena, what are you doing after school?" Evie asked.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug.

"Feel like shoppin' for dresses with me?" she asked. "Or do you already have something to wear for Sunday?"

I shook my head. "No, but... well, I don't have any money with me." _Or at all, really._

"Oh, don't worry. I'll lend you some," she said with a smile.

"Wouldn't you wanta go shopping with your friends?" I asked hesitantly.

"Hey, you _are_ my friend," she answered. I smiled.

"I guess I'll go with you then," I said. She squealed and clapped her hands. A few Socs turned around and gave her dirty looks, but one scowl from Steve was all it took for them to back off. Steve could look real tough when he wanted to.

XxXxX

After school, Sodapop, Steve and Evie were waiting for me at my locker, all dressed in coats and scarves. I slowed down and looked at them. "What is this, an intervention?" I joked.

Sodapop seemed to be the only one to get the joke, judging from the fact that he was the only one who laughed. Or maybe he was just being nice and I wasn't as funny as I thought I was.

"Soda and Steve're droppin' us off at the mall," Evie said cheerfully.

"Yeah, we're headed that way anyway." Steve shrugged.

"Well, ain't that nice," I said genuinely while I opened my locker.

"So, do you already have an idea to what you're gonna wear for the party?" Evie asked as I slipped into my coat. I shook my head.

"Not a clue," I said. "Somethin' with sleeves, that's for sure. I don't wanna catch a cold."

Evie pouted, an act that would have annoyed me if she wasn't so likable. "Oh, but where's the fun in that? Besides, the party's inside, so I doubt you'll catch a cold. Soda, what do _you_ think Elena should wear?" _  
><em>

Sodapop looked up from his conversation with Steve. "Who, me?"

I laughed. "Oh, stop teasin' the poor boy," I said. Evie shrugged and adjusted her scarf.

Steve pushed himself off of the lockers and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "Let's go," he said.

Evie and I sat in the backseat of Steve's car, and Steve and Soda were in the front. Unfortunately for my eardrums, they had all control over the radio. Johnny Cash played loudly, and I wouldn't have minded if it hadn't been for the fear of going deaf.

I had my shoulders pulled up to my neck and I was laughing at Evie and Soda, who were singing and dancing along to the music. Steve was drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

After about ten minutes, the car came to a halt and the radio was turned down. "Ladies," Steve said, turning around in his seat. He had pulled up to the side of the mall.

"Thanks a lot for drivin' us," I said.

"Don't sweat it," Steve told me. Evie kissed him on the lips and opened the door on her side.

"I'll see you guys later," I said with a smile and got out after Evie. I was just about to shut the door, when a Mustang with three Socs in it pulled up behind Steve's car.

"What're fine ladies like y'all doin' with greasers like that?" the one in the backseat hollered. I really hoped Steve and Soda hadn't heard him, but of course, they had. Steve turned the car off and the two of them jumped out. My chest tightened with anxiety.

"What'd you say, Soc?" Steve cracked his knuckles.

Evie pulled on my arm to get me away from the five of them. "No, stop," I told her. My breathing hitched. The guys were yelling nasty things at each other, and I didn't like it. Oh, great, the Socs were getting out of the car.

"Guys, cut it out," I said. My palms were getting sweaty.

"Come on, let them handle it," Evie told me and tried to pull me away, but I wouldn't budge. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to stop the fight, but I was mortified. It was the same feeling I usually got from my parents when they would be at it again.

When I saw Sodapop holding one of the Socs by the collar, I snapped. "Soda, let go of him!" I yelled, black dots suddenly clouding my vision. Sodapop turned his head to look at me, and then he let go of the Soc.

I can't remember much of what happened after that—it's all a blur, really. I remember Steve throwing a punch at one of the Socs, and my knees buckling. I didn't pass out, but I was somewhere between reality and absolute silence. When I came back to my senses again, I was sitting on the hood of Steve's car, and the Socs were gone. Evie was digging through her bag.

"Man, I've never seen you back down from a fight like that," Steve said, and he didn't sound too happy about it either. "What's up with you?" I turned around to see where his voice was coming from. He and Soda stood a few yards back.

Evie handed me a wrapped piece of candy. "Here, I think your blood sugar must've dropped," she said gently. I smiled half-heartedly and unwrapped the candy, before popping it into my mouth. My head was pounding.

"You didn't see the look on her face," Soda said quietly, but still loud enough for me to be able to hear. I don't think he had meant for me to hear it, though. "I think she really hates fights."

"Lots of broads do," Steve said. "Big deal!"

A few seconds later later, Soda appeared in front of me. The corner of his mouth was dark red with blood. I cringed at the sight.

"Are you feelin' any better?" he asked. He seemed genuinely concerned. I nodded and looked away, still sucking on the candy Evie had given me. I couldn't look Soda in the eye. "We really did scare you, huh?" Soda sounded sheepish. Or maybe it was just the soft tone in his voice that made him sound like that.

I nodded again, but I didn't say anything. Not because I didn't want to speak to him, but because I didn't trust my voice. I was already tearing up a little. I didn't want to be bawling like a baby.

"Soda, we have to get goin', or we'll be late," Steve said gruffly.

"Coming," Soda said. He turned back to me. "I hope we're still on for tomorrow..."

I looked into his eyes and let out a single sound that could have passed as a laugh. I sniffled and blinked away the tears that were threatening to spill. I felt strong enough to speak again. "Yeah, we're still on for tomorrow," I told him. Soda grinned.

"Seven o'clock?" he asked. I nodded and slid off the hood. Before I knew it, Soda had planted a light kiss on my cheek. He seemed a little hesitant to do it, but that simple act made my day better by about ten times.

Evie linked arms with me as the two best friends drove off.

Evie grinned. "You okay, doll?" she asked.

I bit the inide of my cheek and smiled. "Yeah," I said. Because despite everything that had just happened, I felt like I was on cloud nine. After months and months of waiting for Soda to notice me, I finally felt like I had a chance with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**February 19th, 1966**

It was Saturday afternoon and I was stressing out. My mother hadn't done the laundry in a week, so I had nothing to wear to Soda's. Nothing decent anyway. Only a skirt or two that just _screamed_ 'I'm boring!'

I didn't have much of a choice, though, so I just went with it. I wore a white sweater, tucked into a navy blue swing skirt, and some white knee socks underneath. I grimaced at my reflection. I looked like a Soc.

I put on a little more makeup than usual, because I wanted to make my eyes pop. I needed to get Soda's attention, didn't I? My eyes were a light brown, so purple eyeshadow would really bring them out. It took about ten minutes to get the makeup right, but I was happy with the outcome. Purple eyeshadow, with a winged eyeliner and a little mascara to top it off.

I was almost done with my hair, when my old man walked into the room. He stood in the doorway for a while, just staring at me as I suffocated myself with hairspray.

"You sure you're just going to study at this boy's house?" he finally asked.

I coughed and put down the hairspray. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, you seem nervous," Dad said with a shrug. "How old is this boy anyway?"

I laughed a little. Every guy I had ever hung out with automatically got named this, or that boy. "Sodapop's seventeen," I said.

"And what kind of parents call their kid 'Sodapop', anyway?" he scoffed.

"Original ones!" I defended.

"I don't doubt it," he sighed. "Didn't you mention he had two brothers? Are they gonna be home tonight?"

I smiled and gently shoved him out of my room, following behind him. We sat on the couch for an hour or two, just watching television and enjoying each other's company, until it was time for me to go.

"Mom, I'm leaving," I said as I put on my coat.

My mom came walking out of the kitchen, drying her hands on her skirt. "But you haven't even had dinner yet," she said.

"I know, but I told you earlier today—I'm not staying for dinner," I said.

"You can't leave without eating first. You're gonna starve to death," she told me. I didn't have time to protest, because she had already disappeared into the kitchen again. She came back out a minute later with two crackers and a glass of milk.

I bit into one of the crackers and took a sip of the milk. "Thank you," I said and put everything on the coffee table. "I'll see you tonight." I pecked her on the cheek.

My dad grabbed his keys and headed towards the door, with me following in his footsteps. "Where are you going?" I asked, slipping into my shoes.

"I'm drivin' you," he said and grabbed his coat off the rack. "I wanna see where this boy lives."

I crossed my arms. "I wrote down the address," I protested.

"I wanna see _him_, too. And his parents. Oh, and let's not forget his brothers."

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. "You're not gonna let me live through this," I whined, but I knew I had no choice but to let him come with me. Neither of us spoke during the ride to the Curtis house. My dad kept looking over at me every other minute, and it was getting on my nerves.

After a good fifteen minutes of driving, we had arrived. Dad stopped the car and was now fully staring at me.

I gritted my teeth. "You wasn't this tense when I was going out with Frankie," I noted. "Not that I'm going out with Sodapop, but you seem to think so..."

"It's just that you're more grown up now," he said. "And I'm nervous about letting you... experience things. Elena, darling, guys your age only want one thing. They ain't lookin' for love—"

"We are _not_ having this conversation right now," I said. "I'm here to help Soda study."

"Then where are your books?" he asked.

I didn't want to admit that I had forgotten them, so I said, "Soda has books too, you know."

Dad chuckled and took off his seatbelt. "I know," he said, but I could tell he wasn't very convinced. I bit my lip.

"You're not gonna come up to the door with me, are you?" I asked.

"Ha! You bet I am."

I groaned and got out of the car. My old man followed suit.

The person to open the door was, much to my discomfort, Darry Curtis—Sodapop's older brother. I just hoped my dad didn't think that I was meeting up with _him.__  
><em>He'd grab me by the neck and take me back home with him, no questions asked.

Darry smiled when he saw me. "Elena, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Hi, Darry," I said. "Uh, this is my... dad."

Darry shook my father's hand.

"Harold Davis," Dad said in a voice that he always used to intimidate people. It usually worked, too. But I doubted Darry would be intimidated by my dad. Darry was twice his size.

"Darry Curtis, pleasure to meet you," Darry said. I just stood there, awkward and embarrassed.

"Could you maybe tell one of your parents to come to the door?" Dad asked.

Darry did. He went back inside and got not one, but both of his parents, who greeted me happily. They introduced themselves to my dad, who looked a little more at ease than he had before.

"Would you like to come inside for a cup of tea or coffee?" Ann asked. _Please say no, please say no, please say no..._

"Oh, no thank you," Dad laughed. "I'm just here to drop Elena off."

_Score!_

"I'll see you later," I said to him.

"Have fun, kiddo," he said and kissed the top of my head, before waving a goodbye to the Curtis parents. And then he was gone. _Thank God..._

"Come on inside, Elena," Ann said. I smiled and wiped my feet on the door mat, before stepping into the warmth of the house.

"Soda's upstairs," his father, Darrel Curtis, told me. I thought it was funny that father and son had the same name. "I think the kid's still in the shower."

"Okay, I'll wait," I said. My voice came out softer than I had meant for it to.

Darrel bellowed out a laugh. "C'mon, you don't have to be shy," he said.

I smiled. "Give it time," I joked. Ann took my coat from me. "Thank you," I said. The two of them invited me into the living room. Darry sat on the couch, right next to Ponyboy.

"Hey, Ponyboy," I said. I felt oddly happy to see him. He looked up and smiled at me.

"Hi, Elena!" He was less shy with me than the last time he'd seen me, which I took as a good sign.

Darry looked at me. "You wanna sit down?" he asked. I hesitantly went over to the couch and sat down on Ponyboy's other side. Warming up to the family took me some time—eight minutes to be exact—but when I finally did, I had a better time than I'd had in a long time.

Darrel was cracking jokes, mostly at Sodapop's expense, and I loved it. I was teary-eyed from laughing so much. Ann walked out of the kitchen with a mug in her hands. "Here you go, darlin'," she said sweetly, handing me the mug.

"Thank you so much," I said. I was extremely grateful, which may seem like a bit much, considering that it was only tea that she'd brought me. But it wasn't just that. These people were treating me with so much kindness, it humbled me.

"IS ELENA HERE YET?" Sodapop hollered from upstairs. I wanted to holler something back, but I didn't want to come off as rude, so I let Darrel do it for me.

"IT'S HALF PAST SEVEN, WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

Sodapop came running down the stairs. His hair was heavily greased and combed back, and he was wearing a tight t-shirt that showed off every muscle on his chest and stomach. I nearly dropped my tea at the sight of him.

Darry, Darrel and Ponyboy wolf-whistled. Soda rolled his eyes, but I noticed a slight grin creeping onto his face.

He smiled at me. "Hey," he said, his Adam's apple bouncing slightly. "Sorry you had to wait. I got held up at work." Sodapop worked at the DX, a gas station in town, together with Steve. Evie had told me the day before, when we went shopping.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it," I said.

"Wanna go upstairs?" he asked. I nodded mutely and set down my tea. I elt Soda's hand on the small part of my back as we headed up the closed the door of his bedroom after him and motioned for me to sit down on his bed. I did.

"My old man didn't embarrass me too bad, did he?" he asked as he grabbed his math book off of his desktop.

I grinned. "Just a little," I said. Soda groaned and sat down next to me.

"What'd he tell you? Was it the duck story?"

"It was the duck story," I giggled. "Did it really bite your—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Soda said quickly. I nodded and pursed my lips in an attempt to keep myself from laughing. "You can take off your shoes if you want to. Make yourself at home."

I smiled and slipped out of my boots, before crossing my legs. I took the book out of Soda's hands, and said, "Let's get started."

Sodapop was smarter than he gave himself credit for. It didn't take me longer than twenty minutes to explain the whole chapter to him. We decided to take a break after one or two more hours of practicing with formulas.

"Your parents are real nice," I said, browsing through Soda's math book.

"Yeah, they're great," Sodapop said casually. "They like you a lot, you know."

"That makes things a lot easier," I chuckled.

"What kind of things?" Soda asked.

I shrugged. "Things like hanging out," I said.

It was quiet for a while, but then Soda said, "Tell me something about yourself. What's your home like?"

"Oh, boy," I said, laughing nervously. "It's uh... It's loud."

"Yeah? Do you have a lot of siblings?" Soda asked.

I shook my head. "I'm an only child," I said.

I think Soda realized what I had been getting at, because all he said after that was, "Oh."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yeah."

"You're not unhappy, though, are you?" Soda asked.

"Sometimes," I said truthfully. "But I'm happy when I'm with... well, Linda. Evie too, lately. Anytime I don't have to hear my folks yelling at each other, really."

"What about me?" Soda asked gently. "Are you happy when you're with me?" My heart was racing. I nodded, but I didn't look up from the book. "Ellie..." Sodapop took the book out of my grasp, put it away and placed his hand on the back of my neck. "Look at me," Soda said.

I sucked in a breath and looked him in the eye. His face was less than an inch away from mine. I gulped. "Are you gonna kiss me?" My voice was barely a whisper.

Sodapop gave me half a nod. "Yeah." And then pressed his lips to mine.

I was so nervous I might have fainted. I think I would have, if it hadn't been for the adrenaline pumping in my veins. Soda pulled away from me. "You're so tense," he said, rubbing my shoulders.

"Sorry," I said.

"No, don't apologize." He pulled me closer to him. "Was that your first kiss or something?"

"Was it bad?" I asked, grimacing.

I didn't want to tell him that he hadn't been my first kiss, because Linda always told me that guys took pride in being a girl's first. I didn't want to hurt Sodapop's ego.

Soda grinned. "No."

"Good. What time is it?" I asked, looking around the room for a clock. Soda went over to his nightstand and got out an old wrist-watch.

"It's almost nine," he said. "What time do you have to be home?"

"Doesn't matter, really," I said with a shrug. I grabbed Soda's math book off the floor and flipped through the pages. "But I think I'm gonna go. I'm sure you'll do fine on the test."

Soda sat back down, and not too far away from me either. "Nah, I think I'm gonna need a little more tutoring," he said suggestively. I put my boots back on my feet. "Ellie? Somethin' bothering you?"

I shook my head mutely and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow," I told him. Soda scratched the back of his head and stepped in front of me.

"Wait, did I do something wrong? Is it something I said?" he asked.

I sighed and shook my head again. "No... I just, I have to go. My folks'll get worried," I said. Sodapop followed me out of the room and down the stairs.

"Okay, I'll drive ya," he said.

I shook my head. "No, I live only a few blocks away. That'd be a waste of gas."

"You can't walk home alone, Ellie," Soda protested. "Not in this weather and _certainly_ not with the way you're lookin' right now. It's already dark out."

I spun around to face him. "You can't stop me," I said. I became aware of the four pairs of eyes watching us. Well, two now. Ponyboy and Darry were gone. I cleared my throat and bobbed my head. "I'll see you at Evie's, okay?"

Soda's face was hard, which wasn't something I was used to from him. "I'll walk you out," he said. I said goodbye to Ann and Darrel, who were exchanging puzzled looks, and then I followed Soda to the door.

"Steve and I'll pick you up around five," Soda said, his features a little softer now. He took my coat off the rack and gave it to me.

"Thank you," I said. I stood there for a second, unsure of what to do. Did I kiss him? Hug him, maybe? Or should I have just left? I went with the latter. After exchanging tight smiles and forced goodbyes, we parted.

The cold outside was harsh, but I kept walking. I just wanted to get out of there. I'd screwed everything up. It could have been a wonderful evening, but there I'd gone again with my handgrenade-subtlety and _screwed everything up_. God, I wouldn't have been surprised if Sodapop didn't show the next day.

I didn't know if I was scared of commitment or if it was just my teenage hormones, but I wasn't comfortable being near Soda after our kiss. I had loved it, though. The feeling of Soda's lips lingered on mine and nothing could beat that, ever. All that was left to do for me was figure out what the _hell_ was wrong with me and hope that I hadn't blown it with Soda.

Turned out he had been right, though. About walking home alone.

Two headlights shone brightly next to me. The car pulled up to the side of the road, dangerouly close to me. My heart skipped a beat and I stopped dead in my tracks. At first I thought that I was just paranoid, but then two familiar Socs stepped out. They were in my gym class. Ryan and Fitz.

"Look who it is!" Ryan hollered, slamming the car door shut. "It's that little greaser slut from school. Hey, grease! Shouldn't be walkin' alone now, should ya?"

They weren't that bad in P.E, but they looked like they had been drinking, so maybe that was why they were bothering me. I turned to walk away, but that didn't do much good.

"Hey, when we ask you a question, you answer!" Fitz said angrily. I wanted to yell at them to leave me alone, but I couldn't find my voice. I was too nervous. The Socs started approaching, beer bottles in their hands.

Ryan suddenly had me by the upper arm. "What's wrong, cat caught your tongue?" he spat. He shook me roughly, which made me let out a whimper. "Talk, grease!" he shouted.

I clenched my jaw and decided _fuck it._ I kicked Ryan in the shin and made a break for it. I didn't know where I was going, I just needed to find an adult. At first I didn't think the Socs would follow me, but I was wrong. They were hot on my tail, hollering the nastiest cuss words I'd ever heard.

Tears welled up in my eyes, because I knew I was going to get a black eye out of this. Maybe even worse. _Probably_ even worse.

I turned a corner, and then another one, until my ankle twisted and I fell flat on my face. I got to my feet as quickly as I could, breathing heavily, and took a quick look around. I was at some abandoned lot. Great. These Socs could kill me and no one would ever know.

Ryan and Fitz caught up with me, looking more pissed than ever.

I barely had time to scream before I got a hard shove in my chest, and a comment about how I didn't know my place. I gasped for air and clutched my chest in pain. Fitz grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugged it backwards. I would've hit the ground if it hadn't been for Ryan catching me by the wrist. He shook me again.

"Stop!" I cried. I was trembling badly now. If only I'd listened to Soda...

"Wanna try kicking me again, whore?!" Ryan yelled, grabbing me by my neck. He brought his face close to mine and shouted so loudly that I could barely understand what he was saying. My ears were ringing. "Quit crying!"

I sucked in a breath of air and screamed as loudly as I could.

I heard masculine voices shouting and getting closer, a few of them I recognized. And then a pair of very strong hands jerked me backwards, out of the Soc's grasp. I was pushed behind Darry's back. Dally and Two-Bit stepped in front of me. I felt dizzy and dropped down to my knees on the cold ground. I don't know what happened after that, because the second I looked back up, everyone was gone. I could hear faint shouting in the distance, but I was far too dazed and shaken up to make out what was going on.

I was bawling my eyes out, mostly out of fear than anything. Fitz and Ryan hadn't beaten me that bad, but they'd scared me half-numb.

A minute later, I was rejoined by the gang.

"You okay, kid?" Darry asked, crouching down next to me. I nodded and took shaky breaths to calm myself. "Shit, where's Soda?" he asked. He probably thought Soda was beaten and bloody in a dark alley.

"H-hom-home," I managed between quivering breaths. "He's f-fine."

"Why're you out here alone? That's dangerous for a gal," Two-Bit said, lighting a cigarette. "'Specially with these damn Socs around." I shivered and wiped my eyes, not bothering to be careful about smudging my eye makeup.

"How bad did they hurt you?" Ponyboy asked gently. I shrugged.

"Not too bad," I said. "Shoot, I thought they were gonna kill me..."

"You got lucky we got here in time or you would'a been," Dally said, unconcerned.

"I was just walking home," I said, trying to blink away the fresh tears that were starting to form. Johnny mutely held out a handkerchief. I looked up at him and saw him giving me the ghost of a smile, but he looked very pale. "Thanks," I said and took his handkerchief.

"What I wanna know is why that knuckle-head Soda let you walk home alone," Darry grumbled, running his fingers through his hair. He sighed. "You bleedin' anywhere?"

I shook my head, even though I was sure that I had scraped my knees. "Thanks for saving me," I said, using Johnny's handkerchief to dry my eyes.

"It was our pleasure," Two-Bit grinned.

"Yeah, I was just itchin' for a fight today," Dallas said. "We beat their asses, in case you wanted to know."

I nodded and got out a small chuckle. "Good," I said and unsteadily got to my feet, straightening out my skirt.

"Where do you live?" Darry asked.

"Seventieth street," I said, running my fingers through my curls.

"Okay, let's get you home." Darry patted me on the shoulder.

Two-Bit and Dally were joking around, mostly about how they 'pounded them Socs good', and I was walking inbetween Ponyboy and Johnny. Ponyboy took a look at me. "You still look kinda pale," he observed and started digging through his pockets. He got out a cancer stick and held it out to me. "Here, this'll help you feel better."

I smiled and took it. "Thanks."

Two-Bit took out his lighter and lit the cigarette for me. I didn't smoke that often, but I'd done it before, so I knew how to do it. Linda had taught me.

"So, how'd the date with Soda go, El?" Two-Bit asked.

"It wasn't a date," I told him, taking a relaxing drag. My mind went back to the kiss and a small smile spread across my lips.

"Right, we could hear you moanin' from here," Two-Bit laughed. I blushed fiercely. Darry hit him over the head.

"Watch your trap, Mathews," he threatened.

"Sorry, Superman," Two-Bit snickered. He turned back to me. "So, did Soda get any tonight?"

I groaned and rubbed my face. "You're vulgar."

Ponyboy snickered and Johnny laughed softly. Dallas just rolled his eyes.

I took another drag and pressed the spot on my chest that the Soc had hit to see how much it hurt. I gasped in pain and choked on the smoke in my lungs. My eyes watered as I coughed. Ponyboy patted me on the back. I gave my cigarette to Darry, who gave it to Two-Bit. He took it happily and started smoking two weeds at the same time.

"So, where's Steve?" I asked, coughing the last bit of smoke out of my system.

"Took that broad of his to a movie," Dally said. "Anyway, them Socs looked kinda familiar. Do you know them?"

I shook my head. "No," I lied. I didn't want Dallas or Two-Bit or anyone up a fight at school on Monday, because I still had gym class with Ryan and his buddy. All I could do was hope that they didn't care enough about me to keep harrassing me.

Besides, the gang would surely tell Steve and Soda. I didn't want to make a big deal out of this, even if I still felt like crying everytime I thought of the Socs' stupid faces.

"I think I've seen them at school before," Two-Bit said. "Ain't they seniors too?"

"I don't know!" I burst out. "God, I just wanna forget about the whole thing!" I pulled my coat tighter around my body and did my best not to start bawling again.

"Woah, easy, Davis," Dallas said. "We didn't think you'd get all worked up."

"What do you mean? The girl just barely survived a jumping. 'Course she's worked up," Darry said. "Give 'er some credit for bein' able to walk for herself."

I wondered what kind of puny girls Darry usually hung out with, but I didn't think that what I'd witnessed was worth fainting over. Of course I could walk, I didn't get my legs broken, did I?

"Thanks for walkin' me home," I said when we reached my block. I didn't want them to drop me off right before my house, because my dad would _flip._ The guys just shrugged me off, wordlessly telling me that it wasn't a big deal. "I'll see y'all later, yeah?" I said.

I got a few mumbled 'yeah's. I waved them goodbye and walked down the street on my own, hearing Two-Bit and Ponyboy snicker behind me. Probably about some dirty joke Two-Bit made.

Usually, humor like that put me off. But I could appreciate it with these people. Maybe it was just because they were nice guys, or maybe it was because they were Sodapop's friends, but I liked them. They were tuff. I wanted to be friends with them.

I was happy that I didn't come home to fighting that night.

The second I walked in, though, my mom pounced on me. "Golly, are you okay?" she asked, wide-eyed.

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"You look like a mess! What happened?" she asked, grabbing me by my shoulders. "Why is your mascara all smudged?"

"Some kids were being jerks," I said. I pulled away from her and headed up the stairs. She followed me.

"What do you mean, what happened? What kids? Did Sodapop make you cry?"

I clenched my jaw. "Why do you have to know everything?" I snapped. Mom looked taken aback.

"Because I have to know who bothered my child!" she shot back.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Really? 'Cause the other day, you had no problem throwing me out!"

"Ssshhh! Your father's right downstairs!" she hissed.

"_Don't_ let him know about what happened tonight, or I'll tell him know that you kicked me out," I said. Mom stayed quiet. "And for your information, Sodapop didn't do anything to hurt me tonight. Just thought you should know." With that, I stomped into my room and slammed the door shut.

With tears in my eyes, I kicked off my shoes and stripped down to my underwear. I threw on the first night gown I could find and looked at myself in my full-length mirror. My thighs were a bright red color from the cold, and my knees were scraped. Not too badly, though, but I wasn't sure how I was going to pull my new dress off at Evie's party. I reminded myself to pay her back for the dress.

I went to the bathroom and washed off all my makeup with warm water and soap.

Fortunately, the Socs hadn't left any marks on my face. I wouldn't have to explain to my dad what happened. Or anyone, really. Though I was sure that Sodapop was going to know eventually. His friends were most likely going to tell him. I just hoped that they wouldn't point the Socs out at school, because P.E. was bad enough on its own. World War III would break out for sure.

Okay, so maybe that's a little dramatic. But I was just really scared.

After brushing my teeth, I went back to my room. My dad was sitting on my bed, wearing worn jeans and a blouse. His curly black hair was a mess. He looked very tired. I was worried that he wasn't just physically tired, but mentally as well.

"Hey, Dad," I said. He frowned when he saw me.

"Why do you have bruises all over?" he asked. I quickly pulled on a robe.

"I fell," I said. "But that was yesterday. So, why are you in my room? I mean, I don't mind, but... why?"

"I wanted to know how your night was," Dad said, offering me a small smile. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Did he keep his hands to himself?"

I pursed my lips. "How was _your _night?" I asked.

Dad's smile only got bigger. "Don't change the subject, young lady. Did that boy try anythin' on you?"

I giggled and crawled under the covers of my bed. "Goodnight, Dad."

He got closer to me and sniffed. "You smell like aftershave, Elena," he said. I laughed and pushed his face away.

"Get out," I said. Dad grinned and kissed my forehead, before standing up.

His face fell a little. "I love you," he told me with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Don't forget that, all right?"

"I won't," I said. "I love you too, Dad."

"Don't ever think that I don't care about you." He sat back down and stroked my hair. "The day you were born was the happiest day of my life."

I frowned and shook my head. "What's going on?" I asked. And then I saw the tears in his eyes, and I knew. "Oh my God, you're leaving." I sat up and shook my head frantically. "I swear to God, Dad, if you leave us, I'll never forgive you."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"No, you're not!" I shouted, my voice thick with emotion.

"Elena, I—"

"GET OUT!" I covered my face with my hands and took deep breaths. When I looked back up, he was gone. That asshole. It was as if every part of me that had ever loved him, had turned to hate.

But despite the anger I felt, I cried myself to sleep that night.

* * *

><p><strong>So, there was a lot of crying in this chapter. I sorta feel bad for Elena for everything that I'm putting her through :P What do you think is going to happen next? Pleash drop a comment! XXX<strong>


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